diff --git a/Annex/View.hs b/Annex/View.hs
index abf8f073e6..78b4da589a 100644
--- a/Annex/View.hs
+++ b/Annex/View.hs
@@ -44,11 +44,7 @@ import Text.Regex.TDFA.String
 import Text.Regex
 #endif
 
-
-data ViewChange = Unchanged | Narrowing | Widening
-	deriving (Ord, Eq, Show)
-
-{- Each multivalued ViewFilter in a view results in another level of
+{- Each visible ViewFilter in a view results in another level of
  - subdirectory nesting. When a file matches multiple ways, it will appear
  - in multiple subdirectories. This means there is a bit of an exponential
  - blowup with a single file appearing in a crazy number of places!
@@ -60,16 +56,38 @@ viewTooLarge :: View -> Bool
 viewTooLarge view = visibleViewSize view > 5
 
 visibleViewSize :: View -> Int
-visibleViewSize = length . filter (multiValue . viewFilter) . viewComponents
+visibleViewSize = length . filter viewVisible . viewComponents
 
-{- Updates a view, adding a new field to filter on (Narrowing), 
- - or allowing a new value in an existing field (Widening). -}
-refineView :: View -> MetaField -> String -> (View, ViewChange)
-refineView view field wanted
+data ViewChange = Unchanged | Narrowing | Widening
+	deriving (Ord, Eq, Show)
+
+{- Updates a view, adding new fields to filter on (Narrowing), 
+ - or allowing new values in an existing field (Widening). -}
+refineView :: View -> [(MetaField, String)] -> (View, ViewChange)
+refineView = go Unchanged
+  where
+  	go c v [] = (v, c)
+	go c v ((f, s):rest) =
+		let (v', c') = refineView' v f s
+		in go (max c c') v' rest
+
+{- Adds an additional filter to a view. This can only result in narrowing
+ - the view. Multivalued filters are added in non-visible form. -}
+filterView :: View -> [(MetaField, String)] -> View
+filterView v vs = v { viewComponents = viewComponents f' ++ viewComponents v}
+  where
+	f = fst $ refineView (v {viewComponents = []}) vs
+	f' = f { viewComponents = map toinvisible (viewComponents f) }
+	toinvisible c = c { viewVisible = False }
+
+refineView' :: View -> MetaField -> String -> (View, ViewChange)
+refineView' view field wanted
 	| field `elem` (map viewField components) = 
 		let (components', viewchanges) = runWriter $ mapM updatefield components
 		in (view { viewComponents = components' }, maximum viewchanges)
-	| otherwise = let view' = view { viewComponents = ViewComponent field viewfilter : components }
+	| otherwise = 
+		let component = ViewComponent field viewfilter (multiValue viewfilter)
+		    view' = view { viewComponents = component : components }
 		in if viewTooLarge view'
 			then error $ "View is too large (" ++ show (visibleViewSize view') ++ " levels of subdirectories)"
 			else (view', Narrowing)
@@ -173,8 +191,8 @@ fileViews view =
 					else map (</> mkfileview file) paths
   where
 	visible = map (fromJust . snd) .
-		filter (multiValue . fst) .
-		zip (map viewFilter (viewComponents view))
+		filter (viewVisible . fst) .
+		zip (viewComponents view)
 
 {- Checks if metadata matches a ViewComponent filter, and if so
  - returns the value, or values that match. Self-memoizing on ViewComponent. -}
@@ -255,7 +273,7 @@ pathProduct (l:ls) = foldl combinel l ls
 fromView :: View -> FileView -> MetaData
 fromView view f = foldr (uncurry updateMetaData) newMetaData (zip fields values)
   where
-	visible = filter (multiValue . viewFilter) (viewComponents view)
+	visible = filter viewVisible (viewComponents view)
 	fields = map viewField visible
 	paths = splitDirectories $ dropFileName f
 	values = map fromViewPath paths
@@ -263,15 +281,15 @@ fromView view f = foldr (uncurry updateMetaData) newMetaData (zip fields values)
 {- Constructing a view that will match arbitrary metadata, and applying
  - it to a file yields a set of FileViews which all contain the same
  - MetaFields that were present in the input metadata
- - (excluding fields that are not multivalued). -}
-prop_view_roundtrips :: FilePath -> MetaData -> Bool
-prop_view_roundtrips f metadata = null f || viewTooLarge view ||
+ - (excluding fields that are not visible). -}
+prop_view_roundtrips :: FilePath -> MetaData -> Bool -> Bool
+prop_view_roundtrips f metadata visible = null f || viewTooLarge view ||
 	all hasfields (fileViews view fileViewFromReference f metadata)
   where
 	view = View (Git.Ref "master") $
-		map (\(mf, mv) -> ViewComponent mf (FilterValues $ S.filter (not . null . fromMetaValue) mv))
+		map (\(mf, mv) -> ViewComponent mf (FilterValues $ S.filter (not . null . fromMetaValue) mv) visible)
 			(fromMetaData metadata)
-	visiblefields = sort (map viewField $ filter (multiValue . viewFilter) (viewComponents view))
+	visiblefields = sort (map viewField $ filter viewVisible (viewComponents view))
 	hasfields fv = sort (map fst (fromMetaData (fromView view fv))) == visiblefields
 
 {- Applies a view to the currently checked out branch, generating a new
@@ -282,7 +300,8 @@ applyView view = applyView' fileViewFromReference view
 
 {- Generates a new branch for a View, which must be a more narrow
  - version of the View originally used to generate the currently
- - checked out branch.
+ - checked out branch. That is, it must match a subset of the files
+ - in view, not any others.
  -}
 narrowView :: View -> Annex Git.Branch
 narrowView = applyView' fileViewReuse
@@ -405,3 +424,6 @@ withIndex :: Annex a -> Annex a
 withIndex a = do
 	f <- fromRepo gitAnnexViewIndex
 	withIndexFile f a
+
+withCurrentView :: (View -> Annex a) -> Annex a
+withCurrentView a = maybe (error "Not in a view.") a =<< currentView
diff --git a/CmdLine/GitAnnex.hs b/CmdLine/GitAnnex.hs
index c8325872da..3604681f96 100644
--- a/CmdLine/GitAnnex.hs
+++ b/CmdLine/GitAnnex.hs
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ import qualified Command.ReKey
 import qualified Command.MetaData
 import qualified Command.View
 import qualified Command.VAdd
+import qualified Command.VFilter
 import qualified Command.VPop
 import qualified Command.VCycle
 import qualified Command.Reinject
@@ -142,6 +143,7 @@ cmds = concat
 	, Command.MetaData.def
 	, Command.View.def
 	, Command.VAdd.def
+	, Command.VFilter.def
 	, Command.VPop.def
 	, Command.VCycle.def
 	, Command.Fix.def
diff --git a/Command/VAdd.hs b/Command/VAdd.hs
index d7dee9fb7e..3dc1fd4cfd 100644
--- a/Command/VAdd.hs
+++ b/Command/VAdd.hs
@@ -10,12 +10,11 @@ module Command.VAdd where
 import Common.Annex
 import Command
 import Annex.View
-import Logs.View
 import Command.View (paramView, parseViewParam, checkoutViewBranch)
 
 def :: [Command]
 def = [notBareRepo $ notDirect $
-	command "vadd" paramView seek SectionMetaData "refine current view"]
+	command "vadd" paramView seek SectionMetaData "add subdirs to current view"]
 
 seek :: CommandSeek
 seek = withWords start
@@ -23,20 +22,15 @@ seek = withWords start
 start :: [String] -> CommandStart
 start params = do
 	showStart "vadd" ""
-	go =<< currentView
-  where
-	go Nothing = error "Not in a view."
-	go (Just view) = do
-		let (view', change) = calc view Unchanged (reverse params)
+	withCurrentView $ \view -> do
+		let (view', change) = refineView view $
+			map parseViewParam $ reverse params
 		case change of
 			Unchanged -> do
 				showNote "unchanged"
 				next $ next $ return True
-			Narrowing -> next $ next $
-				checkoutViewBranch view' narrowView
+			Narrowing -> next $ next $ do
+				if visibleViewSize view' == visibleViewSize view
+					then error "That would not add an additional level of directory structure to the view. To filter the view, use vfilter instead of vadd."
+					else checkoutViewBranch view' narrowView
 			Widening -> error "Widening view to match more files is not currently supported."
-
-	calc v c [] = (v, c)
-	calc v c (p:ps) =
-		let (v', c') = uncurry (refineView v) (parseViewParam p)
-		in calc v' (max c c') ps
diff --git a/Command/View.hs b/Command/View.hs
index 7cc908436d..17e136f7be 100644
--- a/Command/View.hs
+++ b/Command/View.hs
@@ -53,12 +53,9 @@ parseViewParam s = case separate (== '=') s of
 mkView :: [String] -> Annex View
 mkView params = do
 	v <- View <$> viewbranch <*> pure []
-	return $ calc v $ reverse params
+	return $ fst $ refineView v $
+		map parseViewParam $ reverse params
   where
-	calc v [] = v
-	calc v (p:ps) =
-		let (v', _) = uncurry (refineView v) (parseViewParam p)
-		in calc v' ps
 	viewbranch = fromMaybe (error "not on any branch!")
 		<$> inRepo Git.Branch.current
 
diff --git a/Logs/View.hs b/Logs/View.hs
index 2a26cfa17a..15d472bc69 100644
--- a/Logs/View.hs
+++ b/Logs/View.hs
@@ -71,9 +71,9 @@ branchView view
   where
 	name = intercalate ";" $ map branchcomp (viewComponents view)
 	branchcomp c
-		| multiValue (viewFilter c) = branchcomp' c
+		| viewVisible c = branchcomp' c
 		| otherwise = "(" ++ branchcomp' c ++ ")"
-	branchcomp' (ViewComponent metafield viewfilter)
+	branchcomp' (ViewComponent metafield viewfilter _)
 		| metafield == tagMetaField = branchvals viewfilter
 		| otherwise = concat
 			[ forcelegal (fromMetaField metafield)
diff --git a/Types/View.hs b/Types/View.hs
index 7ef44db11c..04b002879c 100644
--- a/Types/View.hs
+++ b/Types/View.hs
@@ -28,11 +28,12 @@ instance Arbitrary View where
 data ViewComponent = ViewComponent
 	{ viewField :: MetaField
 	, viewFilter :: ViewFilter
+	, viewVisible :: Bool
 	}
 	deriving (Eq, Read, Show)
 
 instance Arbitrary ViewComponent where
-	arbitrary = ViewComponent <$> arbitrary <*> arbitrary
+	arbitrary = ViewComponent <$> arbitrary <*> arbitrary <*> arbitrary
 
 {- Only files with metadata matching the view are displayed. -}
 type FileView = FilePath
diff --git a/debian/changelog b/debian/changelog
index 36ed0b4d5b..c71ef515c6 100644
--- a/debian/changelog
+++ b/debian/changelog
@@ -7,9 +7,9 @@ git-annex (5.20140211) UNRELEASED; urgency=medium
     to limit them to acting on files that have particular metadata.
   * view: New command that creates and checks out a branch that provides
     a structured view of selected metadata.
-  * vadd, vpop, vcycle: New commands for operating within views.
-  * pre-commit: Update metadata when committing changes to annexed files
-    within a view.
+  * vfilter, vadd, vpop, vcycle: New commands for operating within views.
+  * pre-commit: Update metadata when committing changes to locations
+    of annexed files within a view.
   * Add progress display for transfers to/from external special remotes.
   * Windows webapp: Can set up box.com, Amazon S3, and rsync.net remotes
   * Windows webapp: Can create repos on removable drives.
diff --git a/doc/git-annex.mdwn b/doc/git-annex.mdwn
index 23002cb9ac..e7183dc87b 100644
--- a/doc/git-annex.mdwn
+++ b/doc/git-annex.mdwn
@@ -722,10 +722,10 @@ subdirectories).
   shown in the view.
   
   Multiple values for a metadata field can be specified, either by using
-  a glob (field="\*") or by listing each wanted value. The resulting view
+  a glob (`field="*"`) or by listing each wanted value. The resulting view
   will put files in subdirectories according to the value of their fields.
-  
-  Once within a view, you can make additional subdirectories, and
+
+  Once within a view, you can make additional directories, and
   copy or move files into them. When you commit, the metadata will
   be updated to correspond to your changes.
 
@@ -736,16 +736,28 @@ subdirectories).
 
   The optional number tells how many views to pop.
 
-* `vadd [field=value ...] [tag ...]`
+* `vfilter [field=value ...] [tag ...]`
 
-  Refines the currently checked out view branch, adding additional fields
-  or tags.
+  Filters the current view to only the files that have the
+  specified values and tags.
+
+* `vadd [field=glob ...]`
+
+  Changes the current view, adding an additional level of directories
+  to categorize the files.
+
+  For example, when the view is by author/tag, `vadd year=*` will 
+  change it to year/author/tag. 
+  
+  So will `vadd year=2014 year=2013`, but limiting the years in view
+  to only those two.
 
 * `vcycle`
 
   When a view involves nested subdirectories, this cycles the order.
-  For example, when the view has date/author/tag, vcycle will switch
-  it to author/tag/date.
+
+  For example, when the view is by year/author/tag, `vcycle` will switch
+  it to author/tag/year.
 
 # UTILITY COMMANDS
 
diff --git a/doc/tips/metadata_driven_views.mdwn b/doc/tips/metadata_driven_views.mdwn
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..85b9d9cbdc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/tips/metadata_driven_views.mdwn
@@ -0,0 +1,120 @@
+git-annex now has support for storing arbitrary metadata about annexed
+files. For example, this can be used to tag files, to record the author 
+of a file, etc. The metadata is synced around between repositories with
+the other information git-annex keeps track of.
+
+One nice way to use the metadata is through **views**. You can ask
+git-annex to create a view of files in the currently checked out branch
+that have certian metadata. Once you're in a view, you can move and copy
+files to adjust their metadata further. Rather than the traditional
+hierarchical directory structure, views are dynamic; you can easily
+refine or reorder a view.
+
+Let's get started by setting some tags on files. No views yet, just some
+metadata:
+
+	# git annex metadata --tag todo work/2014/*
+	# git annex metadata --untag todo work/2014/done/*
+	# git annex metadata --tag urgent work/2014/presentation_for_tomorrow.odt
+	# git annex metadata --tag done work/2013/* work/2014/done/*
+	# git annex metadata --tag work work
+	# git annex metadata --tag video videos
+	# git annex metadata --tag work videos/operating_heavy_machinery.mov
+	# git annex metadata --tag done videos/old
+	# git annex metadata --tag new videos/lotsofcats.ogv
+	# git annex metadata --tag sound podcasts
+	# git annex metadata --tag done podcasts/old
+	# git annex metadata --tag new podcasts/recent
+
+So, you had a bunch of different kinds of files sorted into a directory
+structure. But that didn't really reflect how you approach the files.
+Adding some tags lets you categorize the files in different ways.
+
+Ok, metadata is in place, but how to use it? Time to change views!
+
+	# git annex view tag=*
+	view  (searching...)
+
+	Switched to branch 'views/_'
+	ok
+
+This searched for all files with any tag, and created a new git branch
+that sorts the files according to their tags.
+
+	# tree -d
+	work
+	todo
+	urgent
+	done
+	new
+	video
+	sound
+
+Notice that a single file may appear in multiple directories
+depending on its tags. For example, `lotsofcats.ogv` is in
+both `new/` and `video/`.
+
+Ah, but you're at work now, and don't want to be distracted by cat videos.
+Time to filter the view:
+
+	# git annex vfilter tag=work
+	vfilter
+	Switched to branch 'views/(work)/_'
+	ok
+
+Now only the work files are in the view, and they're otherwise categorized
+according to their other tags. So you can check the `urgent/` directory
+to see what's next, and look in `todo/` for other work related files.
+
+Now that you're in a tag based view, you can move files around between the
+directories, and when you commit your changes to git, their tags will be
+updated.
+
+	# git mv urgent/presentation_for_tomorrow_{work;2014}.odt ../done
+	# git commit -m "a good day's work"
+	metadata tag-=urgent
+	metadata tag+=done
+
+You can return to a previous view by running `git annex vpop`. If you pop
+all the way out of all views, you'll be back on the regular git branch you
+originally started from. You can also use `git checkout` to switch between
+views and other branches.
+
+Beyond simple tags, you can add whatever kinds of metadata you like, and
+use that metadata in more elaborate views. For example, let's add a year
+field.
+
+	# git checkout master
+	# git annex metadata --set year=2014 work/2014
+	# git annex metadata --set year=2013 work/2013
+	# git annex view year=* tag=*
+
+Now you're in a view with two levels of directories, first by year and then
+by tag.
+
+	# tree -d
+	2014
+	  |-- work
+          |-- todo
+	  |-- urgent
+          `-- done
+	2013
+	  |-- work
+	  `-- done
+
+Oh, did you want it the other way around? Easy!
+
+	# git annex vcycle
+	# tree -d
+	work
+	  |-- 2014
+	  `-- 2013
+	todo
+	  `-- 2014
+	urgent
+	  `-- 2014
+	done
+	  |-- 2014
+	  `-- 2013
+
+This has probably only scratched the surface of what you can do with views.